Siege of Alexandria (30 BC)

The Siege of Alexandria occurred from July to August 30 BC at the end of the Roman civil war between Octavian and Mark Antony, who was allied with his lover, the Ptolemaic queen of Egypt Cleopatra.

Following the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, Antony was forced to flee to Egypt with his lover Cleopatra, and they took shelter in the capital of Alexandria. Antony failed to secure the loyalty of the army at Paraitonion (Mersa Matruh) and to make peace with Octavian, and Antony was left with just two loyal legions in Alexandria, commanded by his right-hand man Rufio.

In July 30 BC, Octavian's general Cornelius Gallus advanced on Alexandria from Paraitonion as Octavian landed at Pelusium. Antony was defeated by Gallus, and he proceeded to advance on Pelusium. Despite a victory on 31 July, more of Antony's legions deserted, and the despondent Rufio fell on his own sword rather than either desert Antony or be executed by Octavian for treason. Antony now had insufficient forces to fight Octavian, and a slight success over Octavian's tired soldiers led to Cleopatra encouraging Octavian to make a general attack, in which he was decisively beaten. After failing to escape on board a ship, he received a false suicide note from Cleopatra, who sought to protect herself and her son Caesarion by having Antony kill himself. However, Antony only mortally wounded himself, and he lived long enough to discover that Cleopatra was still alive, and to die in her arms at the mausoleum in which she was hiding. She later met with Octavian and vainly attempted to move him to pity, although he allowed her to bury Antony. On 12 August 30 BC, Cleopatra committed suicide by having a poisonous asp bite her breast, and Octavian had Caesarion strangled later that month, ensuring that he was Caesar's only son. Egypt's surrender after Cleopatra's death turned it into the Roman province of Aegyptus, ending the Hellenistic period.